Something Old

I have been wanting to talk about some of my new favorite things for a while.  But then I figured I should first share some "old" favorite things.  I've mentioned all of this stuff at some point or other but wanted to round them up into a tidy post.

Headsweats Hats:  I LOVE these hats.  First off, they do all the things a hat should do.  They keep sweat out of your eyes, keep the sun from prematurely turning my face into a prune, provide a platform for sunglasses and headlamps, keep rain out of my face, and hold stray hairs at bay.  All awesome things.  But these hats just somehow do all of that better.  They fit wonderfully and are so lightweight.  I know some people don't like to wear hats because they think it will heat them up, but this is definitely not an issue with Headsweats hats.  I love these puppies so much I have since given away all of my running hats which aren't of the Headsweats variety.  I won't wear anything else.  This is pretty obvious when you see my Headsweats hat collection:

Part of the reason I wanted to do the San Francisco Marathon was because they used Headsweats hats last year onto which they branded their marathon logo.  No. Lie.  They had better do it again this year!

Garmin Forerunner 305:  Oh, Garmie.  How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  I know that everyone and their father has a Garmin nowadays.  But there is a reason for that.  This thing will change the way you train and run forever.  You'll know exactly how far and how fast you're going.  You'll get to see awesome satellite maps of your run.  I don't even use mine to half of the capacity that it is capable.  Since a new model (which I really, really want!) is soon to hit the market you can find some pretty good deals on 205/305's nowadays.

Balega X-Athlete Hidden Comfort Socks:  It took me some trial & error and false romances with some other sock brands.  But I finally (luckily) found my one true sock love.   Just do yourself a favor and try these out.  I could take a Balega sock picture that looks just like the hat and the impending skirt photo, but I will spare everyone.  I told my mom to try out these socks.  She did and promptly bought 6 more pairs.  She won't run/walk in anything else, either!

Clif Shot Bloks:  I gave up Gu's when I found this.  Something chewy like a gummy bear is so much more appetizing than gels.  My favorite flavors are Cran-Razz and Margarita (extra sodium).  Ever since I started running with these I don't run with Gatorade anymore.  Just plain water and the bloks.

New packaging on left, old packaging on right

And Clif has even done something new with the packaging.  Less waste and more efficient.  Win-win for everyone!  I took the new packaging on my recent 20 miler.  It works awesome.  You tear off the top and just squeeze the bloks out as you need them.  Previously I would put the bloks I needed into a plastic baggie.  And while I would not define the feel of bloks as sticky, they are definitely tacky.  This leads to siamese-block-stickage and tacky fingers.  While running it is a little cumbersome to quickly grab just one blok of the desired flavor when they are all in a bag together.  Two big thumbs up for the new streamline packaging.

Runningskirts.com:  These ladies introduced me to the world of running skirts.  I remember reading about running skirts in Runner's World in 2004 and I thought they were the most ridiculous thing ever.  Running in a skirt?!  But I read a bunch of reviews and how many women raved about running skirts.  I bought my first (the black/yellow one below) and was hooked.  They are cool, comfortable, and much more flattering than shorts.  This style has two side pockets which are much more accessible than pockets on traditional running shorts.  Who likes to go fishing around inside their shorts for that pocket in the liner?

Amphipod Micropack Land Sport:  This is more of an honorable mention because I haven't used the second one I bought ever since I discovered running skirts (about a year ago).  The skirts have a sleeker profile about the waist and it just looks ridiculous to have this pouch stuck in them.  But in the days when I wore shorts you couldn't beat this pouch.  Just read my sad ode to my first pouch here.

p.s.  I also LOVE handheld water bottles.  I used the older version of this one for years (mine didn't have a pocket).  When I stopped using the amphipod I transitioned to this bottle since it had a pouch where I could stash keys & even fuel.  While both aren't bad at all, I think I am still on the search for the perfect handheld water bottle.  Suggestions?

I am hoping to get the "new" favorites post up the end of this week.  I've got a couple of updates to the things mentioned above.

Monday Mario

Remember this post?  The above is a picture of what Mario typically does to a magazine left within striking distance for 24 hours.

Week 10, Roller Coaster Ride

Sunday's 12 mile run

Sunday:  12 miles @ 10:25 pace;  I spent Saturday night (Fourth of July) at a hotel in Union Square with my parents who are visiting for a bit.  I was stressing a little about waking up early to catch the train back home to get my run done early.  Then I had an epiphany -- I'll just run home from the hotel!  I pretty much followed the marathon route to get home.  Deviated a little bit since there weren't always suitable pedestrian paths available.  What an awesome run!  I never do point-to-point runs unless it is a race and I felt so accomplished running somewhere with a purpose.  I am glad I got to do this as it gives me a feel for some of the hills the first part of the marathon.

As you can see from the garmin map above, the tall buildings downtown really made for some poor satellite reception early on.  I am therefore not entirely sure if the overall pace and mileage is correct.  I was probably holding something closer to a 10:3x pace.

Tuesday:  10 miles including 7 miles @ 9:29 pace (goal 9:48);  I was dragging early on in the run and didn't have high hopes, but I felt better towards the end.  Really negative split the pick-up because I was hovering right around a 9:40 pace for over half of the 7 miles.

Wednesday:  10 miles @ 10:32; Again my body was really dragging the first 4-5 miles.  I wanted to walk and even seriously thought of stopping.  Then suddenly half way through the run I felt awesome.  Was running in the 10:40's-10:50's the first half and low 10:00's the second.  What gives?

Friday:  20 miles @ 10:38;  First off, I know this is too fast.  My current marathon PR pace is 10:31.  I set off with full intentions of trying to hit an 11:00 pace.  I was constantly telling myself to pull-back, pull-back whenever my 0.5 mi splits would come up on Garmin.  But my pace kept getting quicker and I felt that I was running in a comfortable zone.  If today had been a marathon I am pretty sure I could have PR'ed.  I finished not exhausted with something extra left in the tank.  Hopefully this wasn't the peak for me but it leaves me feeling much more confident after the miserable 16 miler I did last week.

That is the amazing thing about running.  Last week I slogged through 16 and today 20 felt wonderful.  You never know how it is going to turn out.  I would even say when I left to do 16 last week I was feeling much more optimistic and excited about the run than I did today.  If only someone could figure out how to capture good-run-days in a bottle...

And with that I am officially tapering!  Well... Not exactly yet.  Mentally I consider the beginning of my running week to be Sunday.  So that is how I have been reporting my runs here.  The plan I am following considers Sunday to be the last day of the week.  So this coming Sunday run is technically the last run of the peak week.  So I have 11 miles this Sunday and then no more double-digit runs until the marathon.  I was marveling as I ruminated on the run today about how 10 milers don't seem "long" anymore.

My post-run ice soak in Homer after the 20 miler; Complete with Boudin sourdough bread to munch on & iPod to watch video podcasts during the torture. 

Monday Mario

The original Carrot Mouth photo c. 2004

Week 9, Where's the Taper?

View from the Marin side of the bridge on Sunday's run

Sunday:  8 miles @ 10:12 pace; I went to Crissy Field to run the hill leading up to the Golden Gate Bridge and the bridge itself.  I even did a second repeat of the steepest section of the incline leading up from Crissy Field.  Holy heart raising incline!  The good news about this part of the course is that what goes up...  I am planning to do this again at least once or twice before the marathon.

Tuesday:  10 miles, including 4x 1600m @ 8:55 pace (got them done at 8:49, 8:41, 8:51, 8:32)  This was my final interval workout before the marathon.  I really like interval workouts.  You are only ever really thinking of the next mile or half a mile recovery at a time and before you know it you've got 10 miles done!  These were much more do-able today vs. my post physical therapy fiasco a few weeks ago.  

I ran back and forth along a portion of Golden Gate Park.  So the first and third intervals were done heading in the same direction.  I am now 100% convinced that while the whole thing is slightly rolling, it is more downhill heading east vs. west in that portion of the park.  The second and fourth intervals (heading east) were a little bit easier than the first and third ones.  This is nice because the marathon heads east on this portion of the course.

Wednesday:  11 miles @ 10:45 pace;  My body was definitely tired after Tuesday's run.  I also developed a strange pain in the back of my knee during Tuesday's run (when you bring your heel up towards your butt the back of my knee would hurt).  It hurt while running Tuesday and I almost nixed the Wednesday run.  Today, however, no pain whatsoever during running, though the heel-to-butt movement (which with my non-existent kick does not happen much when actually running) still elicited pain.

Friday:  16 miles @ 11:16 pace;  Still have that odd pain when squeezing heel-to-butt but nothing while walking/running and it is improving.  Had planned to take this slow but my body was dragging today and went really slow without much braking effort.  I even took some walking breaks which brought my pace down even further.  Told myself to suck it up the last two miles and banged those out in 10:18 and 9:50, respectively.  So not a total hit-the-wall bonk but still a pretty crappy run.  I'm a little bummed about the way I felt during today's run.  But I am trying to remind myself that I have had weeks of awesome runs and they can't all be great ones.  I am hoping this was just a very off day for me and not some sign that my body is starting to feel like I am running it into the ground.  I hit a monthly mileage PR of 167 miles in June.

I have just one more high mileage week before taper starts.  If I were doing a traditional 3 week taper, today would have been my last 20 miler.  Since I felt so bad on my long run today I am pretty thankful I am not doing a 3 week taper.  A lot of people say they hate to taper.  I understand the taper-craziness but I actually look forward to the taper.  There is a very shiny 3 miler waiting for me on July 21st.  And the week before that I get to run 6 milers!!  Sweet, sweet 6 milers!!

Monday Mario

I currently buy Mario's hay in 25 lb box increments.  When I lived in NYC, I used to buy 50 lb boxes since I had two rabbits and it was more cost effective.  Every now and then the bunnies would find a way inside the hay box.  Even though they had their own hay in the litter box, stolen hay is always more delicious.  Once I also had a bag of treats that I'd throw in the hay box to store.  Mario snuck in one day and this is what I found:

p.s.  ChicRunner is having a contest on her site for a Zensah giveaway here.  Check it out!!

Week 8, Running Happy

Sunday:  10 miles @ 10:21 pace; I decided to try to run the Golden Gate Park miles of the SF Marathon course today.  I generally do 90% of my runs in the park but don't usually do the exact route/direction that the marathon utilizes.  I tried to be more aware of the hills and what they might feel like at that point in the race.  I am a little numb to the rolling hills of the park since I run them all the time, but I have to say this part of the course is definitely hilly.  I believe the only extended flat section is the bit around Stow Lake.  Nothing incredibly steep, but a lot of gradual ups and downs.  The 10 miles flew by so quickly and I actually ran out of miles to complete the total part of the course within the park.  But I was able to do the bits I don't normally run.  I felt really strong during this run.  Great start to a high mileage week!

Tuesday:  10 miles including 8 miles @ 9:27 pace (goal 10:00);  What a freakin' wonderful run!  A far cry from the way I felt during my tempo run last week.  I will admit at this point that the paces I am striving for now are in preparation for the R'n'R San Jose Half in October.  I feel like the pure mileage will get me through SFM at this point and that mystical X-factor of racing will determine if I have a good day or a bad day.  I don't think I am down to holding a 9:00 pace for extended distances (my goal for San Jose), but this run gets me feeling I am heading in the right direction.

Wednesday:  8 miles @ 10:28 pace; I was a little afraid I would really be dragging after Tuesday's hard effort.  I'm happy to report that 10:28 felt like a recovery pace this morning.  And only eight miles?!  When eight miles feels short I know I'm in the marathon training zone.

Friday:  20 miles @ 10:50 pace; I was tired at the end, I hurt at the end, but I have to say that 20 miles didn't feel so long.  I guess there is something to be said for these multiple 20-miler training plans.  That's two down, one more to go!  This run was done faster than my current goal marathon pace.  In other words, way too fast.  I am tinkering with the idea of rethinking my goal pace for the race.

The photo is from my Sunday run this week.  I decided to give my Nathan belt another go, this time wearing it backwards.  MUCH better.  I don't have to twist and contort to get the bottles to drink or the fuel out of the pouch.  Non-runners won't know the difference, but if you see someone out there running wearing their belt backwards, I know it is backwards.  I am doing it on purpose.  Also pictured is my new orange running skirt from Runningskirts.com.  Love me my running skirts.

I will admit that I am getting a little nervous at this point.  There comes a point in training when the distances start to feel easy and my pace starts to quicken and feel strong.  It is around this point that I usually get injured.  Knock on wood.  Super duper double knock on wood.  My foot and shin are so far holding up.  They complain a bit, but I give them ample ice, compression, advil, and THREE days off a week.  They have never had THREE days off!  I think these negotiations are keeping them from going on strike.